NCR will be acquiring about 1,300 of these familiar-looking DVDPlay kiosks.
NCR and licensing partner Blockbuster’s network of blue kiosks is about to get a big boost, thanks to a just-announced business deal. NCR Corp. has acquired DVDPlay Inc. under undisclosed terms and plans to begin converting existing DVDPlay kiosks into Blockbuster Express machines.
The deal will extend NCR’s reach into California, Colorado and Illinois, and the end of this year, NCR expects to have about 3,800 kiosks in operation in the U.S. and Canada.
Insiders, for those of you that have used a Blockbuster Express machine thus far, what has your experience been like?
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Will the slowly expanding army of blue boxes begin to make a dent in Redbox’s business?
[via the Chicago Tribune]
I have used the blockbuster rental service and the one near me offers Blu-Rays which none of the Redbox near me do. I also am not charged tax at the blockbuster one “yet” either. My experience was positive.
i tried the blockbuster express 2 times and both were great, had what i wanted and very easy to use. Also the touch screen is up to the second unlike the redboxs by my house which i push the screen several times for it to work. Not looking good for the big red box.
It’s very similar to Redbox, just has the new releases right away. The movies take a little longer to dispense and return, and the cases are terrible, but otherwise the exact same thing.
Still prefer Redbox, but Blockbuster is being generous with the codes right now like Redbox was when it first came to GA so using it a bit more. Never had a problem with either.
I tried BB Express for the first time Tuesday and got a new release that was delayed at Redbox. The operation of their kiosk was just as easy and intuitive – the first time I used either one it was as if I’d been using them for years. Redbox still has the ENORMOUS advantage of being able to see what is in a specific kiosk and allowing reservations.
So how come BB gets new releases the day of, and not redbox??? Is it favoratism amongst the studios or does Redbox simple get to take on the heat for everyone?
The ENORMOUS advantage Redbox has over BB Express is with the quantity of kiosks–thus the convenience for customers renting and returning dvds in numerous convenient locations to where the customer lives/works, etc.
It’s funny that you mentioned that; I deleted a 2nd paragraph about how miserable it was getting to the BB Ex kiosk near work at a horrible, high-traffic intersection. In fact, the 2nd kiosk on my home-work-home route is also in the middle of a constant traffic jam. All the rest are out of my way. Not exactly the fault of the kiosks themselves but, yes, still a factor in the experience.
someone should start the http://www.insideblockbusterexpress.com now
Look like it does exist. Steve already start it.
Yes I started it way back in April when Blockbuster Express was created when NCR acquired The New Release.
If you have a nearby machine and want to try it out for free, promo codes are up at http://insideblockbusterexpress.com/promo-codes/
What do I want for Christmas?
An NCR Blockbuster Express and Big Box DVD kiosk next to all the redbox vending machines in my region!
Blockbuster is just being a copycat. It’s taking Redbox’s concept and turning it into its own. It’s about time that Blockbuster be gone for good. Its stores, which set it apart from its competition, are closing left and right and now Blockbuster’s plan is to do what another company is already doing? Good luck/riddance.
blockbuster will never die as long as there is a need for renting movies, its a proven fact.
and as long as the studios will do everything they can to keep them going. Blockbuster owes the studios MILLIONS so if they go, those MILLIONS go.
Independent wallstreet analysts have estimated that Blockbuster owes the studios HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars.
There is only one thing wrong with this. They are going to put them inside grocery stores. I prefer them to be outside that way I can go to one at any time. I don’t have wait for the store to open.
Not all of them – in my city they are all located in 24/7 convenience stores.
The Blockbuster Express Kiosks are actually operated by NCR via the purchase of The New Release which was the second largest DVD Kiosk provider. Their business started with grocery stores so that’s been where they have been effective at placing machines.
Just recently NCR started building an outdoor kiosk. The first one to be deployed is about 1/4 mile from my house. Every couple of months it will get swapped out with another one as they try to work their way through different issues (like the touch screens dying akin to what happens to Redbox). But until they have an outdoor kiosk perfected, the inside kiosk will rule. And right now, the biggest partners are grocery chains so that’s where you are seeing them today.
But the initial deployments were at Circle K and other convenience stores in Oklahoma City. Though most of the time those are inside, they are open 24hrs. But…there is a new partner coming to the table…I’ll post up about that shortly (posted before but received a call asking me to please remove that posting…apparently I scooped that one WAAAY too soon for their comfort).
Ha! Funny that you would respond to that post – when I mentioned “my city” I was referring to OKC.
looks like there moving into my town, in todays newspaper they said 19 machines will be located in my area and many more to come in the next month or two so with redbox not having new releases and blue rays looks like blockbuster might win the war of vending machines after all.
Redbox has about 6 times as many kiosks. Does that sound like BB is winning?
And your statements about scarcity of new releases are ridiculously exaggerated. Some studios are embargoing new releases for 30 days, yet you act like waiting even 1 day means Redbox might as well not even bother, everyone will have rented elsewhere or bought the DVD by Wednesday.
This week’s big release, Harry Potter, as of today (only 5 days after release) has already been put in over 60% of Redbox kiosks. Not the very best situation, but not that bad!
Let’s put this in perspective though Mark.
If a town has both BB kiosks and Redbox Kiosks and people know they can get the newest releases on release day at a BB Kiosk but they are unsure when Redbox will get the movie, which kiosk are they more likely to check out?
Head-to-head, the BB kiosk outperforms the Redbox kiosk at the moment.
Mark,
John Small thinks it is just fine for the studios to tilt the market in favor of vendors who share their rental revenue stream with the studios. They do so by giving their revenue sharing partners preferred access to product and delaying delivery to others. They do so by selling product at drastically reduced rates to their revenue sharing partners – making it harder to compete for those who refuse to give rental kickbacks to the studios; but this is all fine and dandy for John. He doesn’t care that the studios are driving the rental sector to have to partner with the studios to survive, and John is fine with the fact that this practice will push rental costs to an artificially high level – afterall, he, in his infinite wisdom, has declared that $1.00 rentals are too low.
The studios are using predatory practices to give BB a competitive advantage against RB for the sole reason that BB generates rental revenue for the studios (they are in bed with their revenue sharing rental partners).
The term “Head-to-head” used by John implies a level playing field. Correctly worded, his last sentence should be honestly written, “DVD access and predatory pricing advantages given to BB by the studios are giving them an unfair advantage against RB kiosks at the moment.”
Redbox uses revenue sharing as well Feste. Feel free to speak for yourself but try not to put words in my mouth please. It is dishonest.
as one of the man bosses at our local blockbuster and they quote said
Fort wayne will probally never see these machines since we have something like 10 stores in town… these machines are mostly for towns with few to no blockbuster stores….
I was sadden by that statement . love to see the boxes around here .. i really dont see a reason why you couldnt see a redbox next to a blockbuster machine… you see two diffe. pop mach. next to each other.. you see 2 different paper machines next to each other
what sort of shocks me at least in fort wayne indiana .. there are no BB or redbox machines anywhere near the intersection of Washington center and us 33…. there is a truck stop there and a lot of neighborhoods.. there are no video stores anywhere around there and to rent a movie you would have to drive around 10 to 15 miles around trip….. that truck stop would be a great place for either one of these machines
I really don’t think that having a lot of Blockbuster stores in town will have anything to do with the decision making. Blockbuster Express is simply the licensing of the name by NCR’s Entertainment division which is operated by The New Release which they acquired several months ago. Blockbuster really has nothing to do with it except for revenue from the licensing agreement.
The NCR folks are simply looking for good partners who will place the kiosks and share some revenue from them. They are concentrated in areas because they have to have techs who go out and service/stock the kiosks. The New Release’s tactic has always been to partner with grocery chains. That’s why you see them in lots of those stores. It drives business inside the store which helps both parties out.
Where did you locate the free codes for BB Xpress? I can’t find them anywhere. :(
Can just google to find them. Most are posted on various blogs. There are a few in the community section as well.
Blockbuster Express code “DECEMBER” is shown on the kiosk’s screen and is for “buy one, get one free.”
Whats the customer service line for the kiosk [Blockbuster] ?